Harvey Weinstein will remain behind bars in New York pending his retrial on rape and sexual assault charges in Manhattan, prosecutors confirmed Monday.
The former Hollywood mogul made a brief court appearance Monday morning in connection with California’s extradition request.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that once the New York case is over, Weinstein will return to California to serve his 16-year prison sentence on a separate rape conviction.
The prosecutor said in a statement that Weinstein was formally charged Monday based on an arrest warrant issued by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who exercised her authority to keep him in New York state until his case is heard there.
The State of New York, however, admits that the accused will first serve his sentence in California, “because it is now his initial sentence.”
Weinstein, who has denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles in 2022 after already serving a 23-year sentence in New York.
But her 2020 conviction in Manhattan was overturned last spring when the state appeals court ruled that the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony from other women who were not part of the case at hand.
California is now demanding that Weinstein be repatriated there to serve his sentence.
The new trial in Manhattan is tentatively scheduled for November.
Handcuffed to the chair
Weinstein, 72, appeared in Queens Criminal Court for less than five minutes Monday, with one hand cuffed to his wheelchair and the other holding a book and a magazine. His lawyers agreed that he would remain in the nearby Rikers Island jail complex.
Weinstein returned there after being hospitalized last month for health issues, including COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs. The extradition case was also heard in Queens court, rather than Manhattan, because of its proximity to Rikers Island.
Manhattan prosecutors said last month they wanted to bring new sexual assault charges against Weinstein, but they did not provide further details or a timetable.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, suggested at the time that prosecutors’ comments about new accusers raised questions about the strength of their current case for the new trial.